Well, the planets aligned, we have boarding lined up, and my daughter and I are taking a second look at the horse we want to buy tonite. If all goes well, we will have a horse! He is an 11 y/o gelding and for the last 6 years or so is sharing a paddock with an older horse who is going to be put down as she is just in a lot of pain. The owners tell us our boy 'loves' this mare, so we want to make the transition to a new barn as easy as it can be for him. Luckily the place we are boarding has only the barn owners own horse, so he wont be thrown in with a bunch of other horses. But I would love some suggestions on making him comfortable in his new place, as well as leaving his 'friend'. Any help would be appreciated!

CharliGirl

08-15-2010 09:40 PM

I was given my appaloosa Kubie in a similar situation. His pasture mate had to be put down, and he couldn't cope being away from her. He was trailered over to us about 3 weeks (?) after his pasture mate died. He was so happy to see other horses again!

If your horse needs to be taken away from the mare before she is put down, you may want an experienced horse person with you to help load him. If he hasn't been away from her for 6 years, he could be difficult to handle because it would be so traumatic for him.

Definitely keep your new guy in a separate pasture/paddock for the first few days. If he can sniff the other horse, that's all the better. Unless you have a very large pasture (several acres) I wouldn't put the two together to "work it all out" right away. Your gelding will be stressed, so it may be best to take it slow.